A Family Matter
by spudicus87
Summary: BTVS Season 3 Angel arrives at the Summers' house injured and the Summers' women take care of him.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Everything belongs to the almighty Joss. Nothing is mine.

**A Family Matter**

Scene: Summers' Household; 8:00 PM Friday

There is a knock on the door and Buffy goes to answer it. When she opened the door Angel fell forward into her arms, bruised and bloodied. Buffy almost collapsed from the sheer bulk of his weight in her arms. "Mom!" Buffy yelled in surprise.

Her mother came running from the kitchen. At the sight of Angel in her arms she came to a stop.

"Buffy, what happened?"

"I'm not sure." Buffy answered.

She tried to push Angel up so she could see his face.

"Angel." Buffy called.

She called softly, but there was no reply. He still maintained the illusion of breathing so Buffy knew he still had to be conscious on some level even if his eyes were closed.

"Mom, could you help me get him to the kitchen?" Buffy requested.

Slowly Buffy and her mother guided, more like dragged, Angel in to the kitchen where Joyce cleared off the island and they laid him down on it. Now, with out the weight resting on her Buffy could think more clearly. She took her first good look at Angel. He was totally thrashed. His left eye was swollen shut and the better half of the left side of his face was black and blue. There were rents in his jacket, shirt, and jeans that leaked blood. He had the length of his forehead. Buffy touched the back of his head and she found her hand to be bloody when she pulled it away.

"Angel? Angel can you hear me?" Buffy asked while checking out his face.

After receiving no response she turned to her mother.

"Mom, can you watch him while I go get some blood?" Buffy asked.

"Of course. I'll try to get him cleaned up some before you get back." Joyce replied.

"I'll bring a change of clothes for him. Could you call Giles? I'm sure he'll want to about this." Buffy told her.

"Of course." Joyce replied.

"Thanks." Buffy said and left the house.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Joyce turned to Angel and went about preparing for the task at hand. She retrieved the first aid kit from under the sink and filled a large bowl full of warm water. She got a few towels from the basement and called Dawn to come downstairs.

"What's up?" Dawn asked.

She asked as she came down the stairs but stopped at the entrance of the kitchen when she saw the sight of her sister's boyfriend lying on the island.

"I need you to call Mr. Giles. Tell him that Angel's been hurt and that his presence is needed here immediately." Joyce ordered.

Dawn found the cordless phone and left the kitchen to call Giles. Meanwhile, Joyce had taken one of the small hand towels and dunked it in the warm bowl of water. She set about cleaning the cuts and scraps on his face. Every once in a while he groaned in pain and shifted away from her but he didn't regain consciousness. She put ice in a bag and laid it over the left side of his face. He jerked violently the moment the ice touched his skin. Once she was done with his face she moved to his chest. Dawn came in as she was trying to wrestle him out of his jacket. Dawn came forward and took off his jacket while Joyce held him up in a sitting position. They then removed his shirt to reveal the many wounds that adored his back and chest. They gently laid him back down and wiped him down with a wet towel. His chest was bruised over his ribs and when Joyce went to see how bad they were he almost fell off the island. He kicked and flailed his arms. Buffy entered through the back door with a paper bag of clothes in one hand and a plastic bag with pints of blood in the other. She set the bags on the table and came over to the island.

"Has he woken up?" Buffy asked.

"No, just responded to me trying to help him." Joyce answered.

"Giles said he'd be here as soon as possible." Dawn reported.

"That's good. Do you think we could get the clothes I brought on him?" Buffy asked.

"After I finish with his chest." Joyce told her.

"He hasn't caused you too much trouble has he?" Buffy asked.

"Not at all. I'm sure he's only responding to the pain." Joyce reassured her.

Buffy went around to the other side of the island and gently laid her hand on his ribs. He flinched involuntarily, and tried to move away, but Buffy held on to him firmly, but gently and the same time so as not to hurt him any further. He stopped moving and Joyce was able to bandage his ribs. As they were finishing Giles walked through the door.

"I came as fast as I could. What happened?" Giles asked.

"We don't know. He hasn't really been conscious enough to tell us anything." Buffy replied.

"I see. Do you need any help?" Giles asked concerned.

"I think we should move him into the living room where he would be more comfortable. Lying on the island can't be anyone's idea of comfortable." Buffy suggested.

"Agreed." Giles said.

Giles came and took Joyce's place at Angel's right side and lifted him into a sitting position. Buffy did the same on her side. They slipped Angel's feet off the counter and lifted him slowly to his feet. They then dragged into the living room where they deposited him on the couch. Dawn came in with the bag of clothes and a few blankets from the closet. She handed the bag of clothes to Buffy and laid the blankets on the arm of the couch. She then stepped out of the way. Giles and Buffy then proceeded to take the rest of the Angel's clothes off and put him in his new, clean clothes. Buffy took his shoes and socks off, and then she stood. She grabbed Angel by his shoulders and brought him to his feet, then Giles removed his pants. He then replaced them with the sweats Buffy had brought. Buffy sat Angel back down on the couch and carefully put the sweatshirt on him. She laid him down on his back and then covered him with the blankets that were lying on the arm of the couch. Dawn had gone to get an extra pillow and gave it to Buffy who placed it under his head and kissed him gently on the forehead before she looked up and glanced at Giles.

"We need to figure out what did this to him Giles." Buffy said.

"Yes, of course. It would be helpful if we had a description of whatever attacked him however." Giles agreed.

"I know, but I can't get him to wake up." Buffy said.

"Perhaps I should try." Giles suggested.

He moved to stand next to the couch. He started at Angel.

"He seems to be breathing." Giles reported.

"But Angel doesn't breath." Dawn said.

"Correct, so he has to be conscious." Giles answered matter of factly.

He knelt down.

"Angel." Giles said.

No response.

"Angel, open your eyes. It's imperative that you do this so we can help you." He said more sternly.

Angel groaned and his eyes fluttered and opened to mere slits.

"Angel?" Giles questioned.

Angel groaned again but his eyes remained open, and focused on Giles.

"Angel do you know who attacked you?" Giles asked.

Angel shook his head with some difficulty.

"Can you tell me what they looked like? Any distinguishing features?" Giles inquired.

Angel swallowed roughly.

"Tall, scales, long claws." Angel replied.

Angel's eyes slid shut.

"Angel, try to stay awake." Giles ordered.

Giles placed his hands on the sides of Angel's face.

"Is there anything else you remember?" Giles asked.

Angel shook his head and went still.

"Well I guess that's all we're going to get for now. I will begin my research immediately. I think it's best for you Buffy if you get some sleep. I want you to be rested if you have to go up against these things. Actually I believe it would be best if you spent the night at Willow's. I'll remain here and help watch over Angel." Giles said.

"But what if he wakes up?" Buffy asked worriedly.

"If he does we'll call you, but you need to be rested and I doubt you'll get much sleep if you stay here." Giles reassured her.

"Okay, but you will call the second he starts to wake up." Buffy said.

"Of course." Giles agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Scene: Buffy's House; Early Morning

Giles had called Xander earlier in the night and they had formed a research party in the Summers' dining room. Oz and Cordelia were there also. Joyce and Dawn had retired to bed shortly after Buffy left to go to Willow's. They had awoken to find everyone in the dining room and Angel still passed out on the couch. They had closed the curtains before they went to bed to ensure that Angel didn't end up a pile of dust when the sun rose. They went to make breakfast for everyone. 20 minutes later there was a loud crash that came from the living room. Giles and Joyce were the first to arrive in the living room. They found Angel lying on his stomach in front of the fireplace. Giles told the rest of them to go back to what they were doing and that he and Joyce would handle Angel. Joyce approached Angel who was trying to get back to his feet.

"Angel." Joyce said.

He looked over his shoulder at her then looked back to the ground and continued to try to get to his feet. He only succeeded in ending up back on the ground.

"Perhaps you would do better back on the couch." Giles suggested.

Giles came up next to Angel. He grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to his feet. Angel was favoring his right leg. He wouldn't make eye contact with either of them.

"Would you like something to eat?" Giles asked.

Giles guided him over to a chair while Joyce went to get some blood. As Giles sits Angel in the chair he caught a glimpse of gold in his eye. Angel quickly directed his gaze to the floor.

"Now that you're awake maybe you could tell me more about what attacked you." Giles offered.

Joyce returned with a glass of blood and handed it to Giles who in turn put the glass in Angel's hands. Angel looked at the glass in his hands, but didn't move to drink from it.

"Perhaps if we left you alone for a moment…" He trailed off and ushered Joyce back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later when they returned they found the glass empty.

"Angel it is of great importance that you tell us anything else you remember about what attacked you." Giles told him.

"I don't remember much. I was attacked from behind by them." Angel said.

"So it was a group then." Giles inferred.

"A large group. After they hit me over the head a couple of times things started to get blurry." Angel reported.

He put his head in his hands.

"Sorry I can't be of more help." Angel apologized.

"Quite all right. Would you like to rest for a while?" Giles asked.

"No, I need to go back to my place. I'm sorry I came here last night. I must have scared everyone." Angel replied.

"No, you just surprised us. You can stay here until the sun goes down if you really want to leave." Joyce reassured him.

"The sun's up?" Angel asked surprised.

"Yes, it's been up for a few hours. That further proves that you're in no condition to go home. You should take it easy until you are recovered." Giles said.

"Where's Buffy?" Angel asked.

"She's at Willow's. I didn't think she'd get much sleep here last night. That brings up another point. Perhaps you should go upstairs and sleep. It is probable to get noisy down here and you need to rest. Xander and I will help you up the steps. It is obvious that you can't walk." Giles told him.

Angel looked hurt at that last statement.

"Xander!" Giles called.

Xander came in from the dining room.

"What's up G-man?" Xander asked.

Giles glared at him.

"I need you to help me move Angel up to Buffy's room." Giles told him.

"Okay." Xander said.

Xander came to Angel's side and together they lifted Angel to his feet.

"There you go, Deadboy." Xander said.

Together, Giles and Xander move Angel to Buffy's room where they deposit him on her bed.

"Try to get some rest." Giles said.

He says before following Xander out of the room and closing the door. Angel laid back against the pillows and breathed in her scent. Soothing his senses and lulling him to sleep.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Summers' Residence (Afternoon)

Buffy and Willow arrived at her house. Willow had tried to keep Buffy occupied as long as she could, but Buffy insisted she wanted to see how Angel was doing. They entered the house to find the rest of the Scooby gang in the dining room, and the couch empty.

"Where is he?" Buffy asked.

She demanded when she saw the empty couch.

"We moved him upstairs. We didn't want to wake him unnecessarily." Giles told her.

Buffy nodded, and ran up the stairs to her room. She found him on her bed. Lying on his stomach, his head buried in her pillow. She approached the bed carefully, not wanting to wake him up. She stood at the side of the bed and warily brushed her hand through his mussed hair. He stirred slightly and pushed back against her hand. She slowly sat on the bed next to him and continued to stroke his hair. He turned his head towards her and opened his eyes.

"Hey." Buffy said.

He blinked a few times before answering.

"Hello." Angel answered.

"Should you be sleeping like that?" Buffy questioned.

"Like what?" He asked in confusion.

"On your stomach. From what I saw last night of the condition of your ribs you shouldn't even be moving." Buffy told him.

She said removing her hand from his hair and placing it on his shoulder.

"It doesn't hurt that much." Angel assured her.

"Giles said that they moved you up here. We're you awake for that?" Buffy asked.

He nodded.

"Did you need help to get up here?" Buffy asked.

"A little." Angel replied.

"So it looks like you're going to be staying here for a while until you heal all the way." Buffy informed him.

"I'm sorry that I showed up here like that. I didn't mean to scare you." Angel apologized.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. How long have you been asleep?" Buffy told him.

"I didn't really sleep that much." Angel told her.

"Because of the pain." Buffy inferred.

He nodded.

"You do look tense." Buffy told him.

Buffy stood up suddenly and took her shoes off before she got back on the bed where she straddled his back.

"What are you doing?" Angel asked.

"Hush. You'll find out." Buffy replied

Buffy placed her hands on his shoulder blades and began to massage gently; aware of his injured ribs. He moaned softly and Buffy couldn't tell if it was from pain or relaxation. She continued her ministrations until she felt him relax completely. His eyes were closed and she could have sworn he was snoring lightly. When she stopped and slid off his back he opened his eyes groggily. She came to rest next to him on the bed.

"Feel better?" Buffy asked.

He nodded.

"I wish I could give you something for the pain, but pain killers don't really work on vampires do they?" Buffy asked.

"Not really. I usually sleep through the worst part of the pain." Angel said.

"You were pretty much out of it last night. I thought Giles was going to slap you to get you to stay awake for more information." Buffy said.

"I'm glad he didn't, half of my face doesn't feel so great right now." Angel told her.

"Maybe you shouldn't lie on that side of your face." Buffy suggested.

She touched the skin around his eye gently.

"It's really swollen. Maybe I should put some ice on it." Buffy said.

She got up quickly and left for the kitchen to get some ice. She returned with a dishcloth full of ice. She came and sat next to his left side and placed the dishcloth over his eye.

"You got it?" She asked as he took hold of the dishcloth.

He nodded.

"So, how much of last night do you remember?" Buffy asks.

"I remember walking down an alley and being attacked. It gets a little fuzzy after that. I remember waking up and heading for your house, but not much else." Angel answers.

"Do you know how many attacked you?" Buffy offers.

"At least four, I remember two of them holding me and the others did most of the damage." Angel says.

There's a knock on the door and Dawn enters the room seconds later with a mug.

"I brought Angel lunch." Dawn says as she makes her way to the bed and hands the mug to Angel. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks, Dawn." Angel tells her and puts the mug on the nightstand.

"You're not going to eat?" Dawn asks.

"I'll eat. Just not right now." Angel says.

"Okay. Well anyways, Giles wants to talk to you Buffy." Dawn tells her and leaves the room.

"Looks like our little break is over." Buffy says to Angel. "Why don't you eat while I go have a chat with Giles?" Buffy suggests while standing up from the bed.

Angel nods and she leaves the room. Angle carefully picks up the mug after she closes the door and starts to drink.

TBC

Please read & review. Sorry for the wait. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please review. Thanks hopefully the next chapter will be up soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

Summers' Residence (Afternoon): Downstairs

Buffy walks into the dinning room. "So what's up, Giles?" she asks.

"I believe we have narrowed the list of demons down quite a bit. I was wondering if Angel was up to looking at a few of the candidates." Giles told her.

"He's eating right now, but I think he'll be up for looking at pictures in a book." Buffy replied sarcastically. "I'll go and tell him what's up." She said and left to go up to her bedroom.

Upstairs

She knocked quietly on the door and when she received no answer she went in. She found Angel asleep on the bed and the empty glass on the nightstand. She came and sat on the edge of the bed and called to him quietly.

"Angel." He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "Sorry to interrupt your nap time." She said.

"That's okay. I don't mind." Angel replied.

"Giles wants to show you some stuff. See if you can tell what attacked you. Are you up for that?" She asked.

"Yeah." Angel says as he sits up in bed.

"Okay, I'll go get him." She tells him and leaves to get Giles. Giles comes in a few minutes later.

"I hope you are feeling better Angel." Giles says as he retrieves Buffy's chair from her desk.

"I have a few things here that I would like you to look at." Giles says as he hands Angel one of three books he's brought up with him. Angel places the book in his lap and holds his hands out for the next book. He lays this one next to him and takes the last one into his hands.

"Do any of these look familiar to you?" Giles asks. Angel looks at each of the books carefully and finally settles on one.

"I think this is the closest to what attacked me. It has all the characteristics." Angel tells Giles.

"That's good. At least now Buffy knows what to look out for while she's on patrol." Giles says.

"Giles, I don't want Buffy patrolling alone. These guys are dangerous." Angel tells him.

"I assure you she will not be patrolling alone. Faith can patrol with her." Giles says. "Now I believe that's enough for you right now. I am under strict orders not to wear you out." Giles tells him as he stands and makes his way out of the room. Buffy comes in and sits on the bed next to him.

"Giles says you ID our baddie." Buffy states.

"Yeah, but I don't want you out there alone, okay?" Angel asks.

"Yeah, okay, but you're not going to be able to join me out there for awhile so don't worry about it." Buffy tells him.

"Please promise me you'll be careful." He asks of her.

"Always am." She replies. "Now I think you should get back to your nap so you can heal faster and come help kill some beasties with me." She orders as she helps him lie back down. She turns off the light and closes the door behind her. She makes her way downstairs to the rest of the group in the living room.

"Okay, lets find some demons."

TBC

A/N: Sorry for the wait. So finally some momentum. In the next chapter we finally get to confront the demons. So please read and review.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Okay, I know I said we see some demon action this chapter, but it turns out that I really such at writing fight scenes, so I decided to go another route and talk about what happens at the Summers' house while the Scoobies are out patrolling. Hope you like it._

Part 6

Summers' Residence (Night): Downstairs

Dawn knocked on the door before entering to find Angel sitting up against the headboard.

"Hey, you're up." Dawn states and comes to a stop at the end of the bed.

"Yeah." Angel responds. "Are they gone?" He asks.

"They just left. So I thought you could use some company." Dawn says.

"Buffy tell you to distract me?" Angel questions.

"No. It's just I don't have anything to do and you're the only cool person in the house." Dawn tells him.

"I'm the only one here." Angel states.

"That's not true," Dawn rushes on, "Mom is still here."

"I see." Angel says half-heartedly. "So what did you want to do?"

"Well…we could play a game." Dawn suggests. "Unless you want to talk, but Buffy says you're not a big talker so I'm thinking game. What do you say?"

"What sort of game." Angel asks.

"Good question. We have all kinds of board games, but most of them are kinda kid-friendly." Dawn says. "Have you ever even played a board game before?"

"I've played chess." Angel tells her.

"Yeah, but that's been around for ever. No offense. I mean Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land?" Dawn asks.

"Candy land?" Angel questions mystified.

"Okay, that answers that question," Dawn says as she sits on the edge of the bed, "what about cards?"

"What card game?"

"Um, Rummy." Dawn suggests. "Or Poker."

"Ok." Angel agrees.

Three Hours Later

Buffy and the Scoobies enter the Summers' house to find it to be very quiet.

"Well that was a bust." Xander reports.

"Will you be quiet I don't want to wake up everyone." Buffy says.

"Well, I believe it is time for everyone to be getting home. We can start fresh tomorrow morning." Giles suggests. The others start to leave as Buffy makes her way upstairs and to her room. She opens the door to find Dawn and Angel on the bed playing checkers and a deck of cards spread across the other half of the bed.

"Looks like you guys had fun without me." Buffy says and they both look up to see her standing in the doorway.

"Buffy." Dawn says standing.

"It's way past your bedtime." Buffy states. "I'm surprised mom hasn't come in here and yelled at you yet."

"Oh, she did, but I told her that I was keeping Angel company and she left so it's all good." Dawn says in a rush.

"I see. Well know that I'm home I think it would be a good idea if you go to bed." Buffy suggests. Dawn turns around a gives Angel a smile.

"Thanks for keeping me company Dawn." Angel tells her.

"No problem, but next time we play Rummy I'm so going to beat you." Dawn says seriously then makes her exit.

"So," Buffy starts as she makes her way to the bed, "you had fun?"

"We played cards." Angel states.

"I see that." Buffy says as she collects the cards.

"So what did you find?" Angel asks.

"Nothing. We checked everywhere, but no dice." She tells him. "So where waiting till tomorrow."

"Good. I should be able to help you tomorrow." Angel reports.

"If you're sure," Buffy tells him, "I don't want you getting hurt again and if its too soon then you should wait."

"I'm okay." Angel insists.

"Okay, we'll see what comes up tomorrow, but you're not going patrolling." She orders him. "I know you want to, but Angel you're not ready. You need to be a 100 for this, okay?"

"Okay." Angel agrees.

"Now, lets get this stuff cleaned up and get some rest." Buffy says as she moves the checker board off his lap and over to the desk.

TBC

A/N: I know it's been a while since I updated. Writer's block sucks. Please read and review. Tell me what you think and give me some advice. Sometimes it helps my writer's block.


	7. Authors Note

AN: I know it has been a while since I have updated any of my stories, but I do plan on continuing all of my stories but I do plan on continuing all of my stories. You probably won't see an update till after the 4th of July holiday because of the college classes I am taking now, but there will be an update to some, if not all, my stories sometime in July. Thanks for reading and keep reviewing. Your reviews and thoughts keep me going when I hit the wall.

spudicus87


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